The South by Southwest experience is no longer about just discovering new favorite bands.

That changed a long time ago at the annual music festival and conference in Austin, Texas, which ended this past weekend. If anything, there seemed to be more multiplatinum acts featured at the 2013 SXSW and its accompanying corporate concerts than ever before — with Green Day, Justin Timberlake, Prince and Depeche Mode among the top names at this year’s five-day party.

We took it all in during our stay in Texas’ capital city — or, at least, as much as was humanly possible. With about 2,000 acts performing during the festival, you’re going to miss far more than you catch.

What follows are eight SXSW acts that we did catch — and loved. They range from music industry legends to newcomers to the game. Yet they all have one thing in common: an upcoming Bay Area date. To further help you get ready to see these 2013 SXSW standouts, we’ve also listed a few tracks to download for each, which, unless otherwise noted, are readily available at all the usual sites.

The skinny: Seemingly every band that had a hit in the ’80s — and quite a few that didn’t — is getting back together these days. Even Men Without Hats reunited, for crying out loud. Still, there are plenty of reasons to get excited about the reunited Specials, which were responsible for many of the finest English 2-Tone ska revival songs of all time — crazy-good cuts like “Ghost Town,” “Free Nelson Mandela” and “Gangsters.” It was a blast to finally hear those songs performed live at SXSW. So put on your best “rude boy” gear and get ready to skank when the Specials come to town.

Listen to these: “Waiting for Your Call,” “Someone for You” at http://warmsoda.bandcamp.com (those tunes, which are among the band’s best, are not currently available for download)

The skinny: This Oakland four-piece, with power-pop, garage and glam leanings, was one of the best things we saw in Austin. The band played seven shows, each a 30-minute explosion of fuzzy vocals, catchy hooks and inventive guitar. Leader Matthew Melton formerly ran the similarly exhilarating Oakland combo Bare Wires, but that band combusted on contact with Austin at SXSW 2012, breaking up before leaving town. Warm Soda did better, with each appearance drawing bigger and more ecstatic crowds as word got around. They’re off on their first big tour now, but they play lots of shows in their home Bay Area and aren’t to be missed.

The skinny: Murry’s appearance at SXSW was limited to a 30-minute show in a club away from the downtown madness. But he delivered a few of his emotional, heartfelt songs between expressions of misgiving for even being in Austin for what he thinks is an overcommercialized, anti-artistic exercise. Murry’s upcoming album, “The Graceless Age,” might make such self-promotion unnecessary. Its raw, powerful lyrics and Springsteen-like cinematic sweep already are generating raves in the United Kingdom, where it’s been out for a few months. The show coming up in San Francisco will be a record-release party, where Murry hopes to play the remarkable album in its entirety.

The skinny: It’s still way early, but can we just name Nick Cave’s latest as the best album of the year and be done with it? Cave and his Bad Seeds’ 15th studio album, “Push the Sky Away,” is a work of uncommon beauty, intoxicating twists and superb songwriting — and it’s doubtful anything will top it, artistically, in 2013. It’s Cave’s finest offering since 1996’s “Murder Ballads.” As an added bonus, these new songs sound just as mesmerizing on the stage. Cave and his marvelous band delivered four “Push” tracks during their 10-song showcase at SXSW, and all were equal to the longtime fan favorites performed. That Cave, now 55, is still putting out songs that can go toe-to-toe with the likes of “The Mercy Seat” is quite amazing.

The skinny: In the tradition of the Libertines and, more recently, Yuck and The Vaccines, Palma Violets arrived on our shores with tons of buzz, infectious songs and a desire to conquer the U.S. The single “Best of Friends,” from “180,” the group’s debut album, is an anthemic, singalong monster that already has won song of the year honors from the magazine NME in Britain. Austin audiences, packing clubs to see if the buzz was deserved, joined in on the choruses with co-leaders Chilli Jesson and Sam Fryer and swayed along to the latest incarnation of revived psychedelia. The hype might be a bit on the strong side, but the SXSW shows were pretty darn sensational.

The skinny: It’s easy to compare Japandroids to such alt-rock duos as The White Stripes and The Black Keys. Yet this Canadian twosome has a different, though equally enticing, sound than either of those touchstone acts. Japandroids is more of a garage-rock outfit, one that seemingly favors noisy pop over bluesy rock. The group also puts on an extremely energetic live show, which had a crowd at SXSW cheering and chanting like European soccer fans. Brian King rips at his guitar like Dave Grohl, while David Prowse pounds his drums like, well, Dave Grohl.

The skinny: The members of this L.A. band met while working at Amoeba Records on the Sunset Strip, where they must have spent a lot of time in the ’60s surf-garage rock aisle. They’ve got the genre down, from the jangly 12-string guitar to the sultry pace. The songs never pick up past midtempo, but the hooks are sharp, and lead singer Miles Michaud has the appropriate lazy growl. The band’s name always prompts questions, but guitarist Pedrum Siadatian (born in Utah of Iranian descent and the only nonsurfer in the band) said it doesn’t have any deep meaning, but the band hopes it would de-stigmatize the name Allah.

The skinny: Brooklyn bands are about as prevalent as barbecue and beer at this festival. Yet Caveman is certainly one of the more interesting new groups to hail from that hotbed of indie music. Caveman definitely impressed at SXSW with its dreamy, powerful brand of psychedelic synth-pop. Look for the band’s self-titled sophomore album, to hit stores April 2.

Otto Warmbier was arrested in January 2016 at the end of a brief tourist visit to North Korea. He had been medically evacuated and was being treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center when he died at age 22.